WHEY vs PLANT BASED PROTEIN POWDER

I think by now, we all have a handle of the power of protein and all its health benefits but which one should you choose? It really is a matter of personal choice and preference but hopefully I can shed some light on this for you.

Up until two years ago, I chose a predominantly plant based diet purely from an ethical stand point. I hadn’t eaten poultry for over fifteen years and I ate red meat very, very rarely, perhaps once a month and really only if my body craved it. I am a firm believer in listening to your bodies requirements, something we all too often ignore.

I have to be honest with you, I really struggled getting a palatable plant based protein powder and found myself buying so many that I had to add so many other things to in order to make them ever so slightly drinkable. I finally settled on Dr Mercola cinnamon flavour which was great. The market has moved on now and there are many plant based products on the shelves. The main benefit to these products is that they are dairy free and 100% natural with no artificial flavours or sweeteners? I think this is great if your palate is adjusted to this however, most people need to enhance the flavour in some way to make it more enjoyable. If you are on a budget, plant based may not be a good choice for you as most of them are almost twice the price of their whey competitiors.

Of course some of you won’t be able to tolerate dairy in your diet and others can’t tolerate lactose. For the latter there are many whey products that you can find that have the lactose removed.

I personally now only use whey products and find the taste and indeed the choice of flavours is soooooo much better. Whey products are also so versatile and can also be used in baking, cooking and for deserts.

This is a super competitive market and companies are constantly evolving and improving in a bid to become the market leaders. As a result, some of the big brands creating whey products have diversified into plant based alternatives and are also including supergreens as well as products using stevia or other natural sweeteners.

If you are a macro tracker, most plant based powders are about a third lower in protein and higher in fat and carbs compared with whey products so you have to see if you can make them fit your macros.

So there you have it, my take on this subject, for what it’s worth.
I LOVE whey and its versatility so for now, it’s staying on my menu….